| BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter |   |
August 6, 2003 - 13,309 subscribers
Today's sponsor: ASPA
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ASPA Exam Registration Deadline Approaching Advance your career with the retirement industry's only certification program devoted exclusively to 401(k) plans. QKA is available only from ASPA-- the education leader for qualified plan issues. You can add the prestigious QKA designation to your name by passing five invaluable exams. The registration deadline for two of the required exams being offered this fall is September 30. Register today-- and watch your career soar tomorrow. Click on the banner above or visit http://www.asppa.org/qka/ for more information
(Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
Closed Mutual Funds Still Charging 12b-1 Fees
Excerpt: "Domestic mutual funds currently closed to new investors continue to charge 12b-1 fees even though they no longer market the fund, Standard & Poor's reported Aug. 4." (Thompson Publishing Group)
Overview: IRS Publishes Proposed Section 401(k) and 401(m) Regulations (PDF)
9 pages. Excerpt: "The proposed regulations would apply only prospectively and no sooner than 12 months following the publication of final regulations. The preamble of the proposed regulations, however, states that plans will likely be permitted to implement the regulations in the first plan year beginning after the publication of final regulations. Plans may not implement the proposed regulations before that time." (Sutherland Asbill & Brennan)
Employee Benefits Regulations Updated For New 457 Regulations
Browse the latest regulations under Internal Revenue section 457 (deferred compensation plans of state and local governments and tax-exempt organizations). Or use the search engine to search for key words in the regulations. Also provides links to other tax regulations, and to Department of Labor and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation regulations, affecting employee benefit plans. (Calhoun Law Group, P.C.)
Pension Board Revokes Pension of Former Miami City Manager
Excerpt: "The board cut off Warshaw's pension ... after deciding he had used his earlier position as police chief to steal public funds from a police charity." (The Miami Herald)
IRS Memorandum Clarifies Taxability of Sick Leave Compensation for Section 457 Plan Purposes (PDF)
At page 2 of 2. Excerpt: "A recent IRS memorandum from the Office of Chief Counsel (INFO 2003-0082) rebuts a rumor that IRC ยง 457(e)(11) causes accumulated unused sick and vacation leave paid by a state or local government to be non-taxable." (Gabriel, Roeder, Smith & Company)
Obituary: James J. Dwyer, Who Ran Pensions Office for New York City
Excerpt: "Mr. Dwyer, known as Jerry, stood watch over five retirement systems covering more than half a million city employees, pensioners and sundry other beneficiaries. His office counseled and went to court for the City Employees Retirement System, the Police and Fire Department Pension Funds and the Teachers' and Board of Education Retirement Systems." (New York Times; one-time registration required)
Overview: New EPCRS Procedures Update Acceptable Corrections
Excerpt: "Rev. Proc. 2003-44, the recently issued IRS revenue procedure on the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS), includes new guidance on acceptable methods of correction for certain failures." (Thompson Publishing Group)
Opinion: GM Is Just Moving Money Around In Effort To Meet Pension Liabilities
Excerpt: "In the last few years, GM has borrowed liberally from its employee pension plan and lost a lot of that money playing the stock market. Recently, to make the pension whole again, the company sold $10 billion of convertible and straight debt to big investors on Wall Street. In real terms, what the company did was mortgage half the value of 100 years of hard work to pay the piper." (David Carr Frank in the Kansas City Star)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Opinion: Pay to U.S. Directors Reveals Back-Scratching
Excerpt: "Things are looking up for outside directors. In the 1920s, at each board meeting a director could expect to find a $20 gold piece sitting on the table by his seat. Today, he can expect to receive just about $20,000 for each meeting." (Graef Crystal on Bloomberg.com)
Online: HayGroup's 'The Executive Edition' for Second Quarter 2003
13 pages. Articles include "Valuation: The Critical Stock Option Controversy," "Post-Employment Consulting Agreements: Are They Appropriate?", and "Share Utilization in Option Awards." (HayGroup)
Overview: IRS Publishes Final Regulations on Section 419A '10 or More Employer Plans' (PDF)
Excerpt: "Most recently, the Service proposed and issued regulations that seem intended to articulate in a relatively comprehensive manner and codify its litigation position on this issue. The regulations were issued under the Treasury Department's explicit statutory authority (section 419A(i)) to promulgate regulations carrying out the purpose of section 419 and 419A and have been carefully positioned by the government ..." (Sutherland Asbill & Brennan)
Welcome to new BenefitsLink advertiser Jennings, Strouss & Salmon, P.L.C.
Excerpt: "Lawyers in the Employee Benefits & Compensation practice section of Phoenix-based law firm Jennings, Strouss & Salmon, P.L.C. regularly assist business clients with issues arising under ERISA, the Internal Revenue Code, COBRA, FMLA, and other laws affecting employee benefits. We have experience in a wide range of matters, including qualified retirement plans, health and welfare plans, fiduciary counseling, ERISA litigation and government proceedings, and corporate transactions."
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Defined Benefit Client Account Manager
for New York Life Investment Management, LLC
in MA
Retirement Services Senior Administrator
for Dubuque Bank and Trust Company
in IA
Benefit Administrator
for National Benefit Alliance
in UT
Sales Assistant
for The Pension Alliance of Boston, LLC
in MA
401(k) Administrator
for Lorraine Dorsa & Associates, Inc.
in FL
Pension Consultant
for Qualified Benefits
in CA
Employee Benefit Administrator
for National Advisors Trust Company
in KS
Newly Posted Webcasts
(Post Yours!)
457 Plans After The Final Regulations
on August 28, 2003
presented by SunGard Corbel
Newly Posted Conferences
(Post Yours!)
Cross-Tested Plans Specialty Workshop
in AZ, CA, CO, GA, IL, IN, MA, MI, MN, MO, NC, NE, NY, OH, PA, TX, WA, WI
October 23, 2003
SunGard Corbel
Fundamentals of 401(k) Plans
in CA, GA, IL, MO, OH, PA, TX, WA
October 9, 2003
SunGard Corbel
Fundamentals of Qualified Plans
in CA, CO, MA, MI, MN, MO, NC, TX
October 2, 2003
SunGard Corbel
Fundamentals of 401(k) Plans
in IL
October 9, 2003
SunGard Corbel
Construction Industry Benefits Conference
in NV
September 8, 2003
International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans
Fundamentals of Money Management
in PA
September 22, 2003
International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans
22nd Annual ISCEBS Employee Benefit Symposium
in AZ
September 14, 2003
International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans
Certificate Series Program
in CA
September 12, 2003
International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans
Essentials of Public Sector Benefits Administration
in WI
October 20, 2003
International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans
Newly Posted Press Releases
(Post Yours!)
Educational Opportunities Available In September and October of 2003
(International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans)
Nationwide Financial to Allow Plan Sponsors to Offer 401(k) Investment Choice Beyond Selected Fund Line-Up
(Nationwide Financial(SM))
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Search BenefitsLink
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research
- Employee Benefits Library
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